cricket betting in goaFIFA World Cup： Village In North Goa Supports Croatia, Hopes They Reach The Final
Image Source: IANS
But the villagers in the Gaundalim in North Goa are not the only Goans who will be supporting the Kockasti, meaning the chequered ones in accordance with the pattern on their national flag, in the last-four clash.
Miles apart in Split, Dalmatia, the Kovacic couple Marian Theresa De Souza Kovacic and her husband Ivo Kovacic will be glued to the television and following the match from their home and missing the action in Qatar.
Both of them were longtime residents of Doha, the capital city of the host country and moved back to Croatia in December 2020. Both of them are hoping the country of 4 million people will make it to the December 18 final.
"Yes we miss the football action, we are seriously considering and planning to come to the final if we make it," said Marian, who worked in Qatar for nearly three decades.
It was in multi-cultural Qatar that Marian, who traces her roots to the Indian state of Goa, became friends with Ivo and tied the knot in 2008.
"Faith brought us together in 2008. We met in the church compound, and five months later we got married in the same church. The marriage was officiated by his priest uncle Don Dr. Slavko Kovacic from Croatia and witnessed by both our families and friends," recalls Marian, who traces her roots to the coastal village of Calangute in North Goa, but was born and brought up in Mumbai.
"I spent most of my life in Qatar, almost 30 years. During which time besides my job I assisted and rendered service in the church and my husband too was actively involved in the church activities," she added.
Recalling her time in Qatar she said: "I was fascinated with the multicultural environment, the Arabic culture, the beautiful churches and the hospitality and safe environment in Qatar."
Once in Croatia, Marian went on a Church searching mission and she was amazed at what she discovered.
"When I arrived in Croatia, in my first six months I visited 40 churches only in the Split area. This itself will tell you how strong the Catholic faith is in Croatia. 80% of Croations are Catholics and I am overwhelmed to see that," she said about the Catholic faith in the country which was earlier part of Yugoslavia.
Besides the Kovacic couple, there are still a few more things that connect Goa to Croatia.
The Gaundalim village in North Goa, which was once a small-time port from where trade flourished, brought many European traders in search of spices and other trading goods and a few of those traders happened to be Croatian from Dubrovnik.
Marian recalls that many Croatians are well-versed in the historic and religious ties between Gaundalim and Dubrovnik, with many Croatians making it a point to visit the village which is situated close to Old Goa, a village that houses some of the magnificent churches built during the 450 plus years of Portuguese rule in the state.
"The St. Blaise church in Gaundalim built by Croatians is a smaller replica of the St. Blaise church in Dubrovnik which uncle of my husband Don Slavko Kovacic, professor of Church history 'nlightened us when my husband's family learned he is getting married to a Goan," recalled Marian.
Marian recalls that many Croatians are well-versed in the historic and religious ties between Gaundalim and Dubrovnik, with many Croatians making it a point to visit the village which is situated close to Old Goa, a village that houses some of the magnificent churches built during the 450 plus years of Portuguese rule in the state.
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cricket betting in goaGambling in Goa
Goa was the first Indian state to legalise gambling and give licences to casinos, the legal betting age is 18. It is the smallest state in India and relies heavily on the tourism industry. In the late eighties and early nineties Goa began to lose it’s dominance in the tourism market due to the illegality of gambling there. Tourists, especially domestic Indian tourist were going to Nepal, where gambling is legal, instead of to Goa.
Therefore in 1992, the state of Goa issued licences to five star hotels which allowed them to run slot machines. In 1996, this policy was developed to allow certain cruise ships to offer table games such as roulette, baccarat and poker. There are strict policies on this and no table games are allowed to be played in on land casinos. The casino cruise ships, however, rarely leave their moorings and can be accessed easily by motorboats provided by the casinos.
There are a limited number of cruise ships and there are currently just four in use in Goa. Therefore demand is high and there are high entry costs. It usually costs around 3,500 rupees to enter a casino (of which around 2,000 goes to the government). However, players intending on playing with high stakes are often given free entry. On top of this entry tax casinos must also pay an annual tax of 5 crore rupees to the government. The government therefore has a large incentive to keep casinos running in Goa.
Both online gambling and sports gambling have remained illegal and so there is still a large amount of illegal gambling that occurs in Goa. For example, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup a large betting syndicate was raided by police. The syndicate was well developed and took bets over the phone, over the internet and also in person in a room where there were two televisions on which people could watch the football. People also often use foreign online gambling websites such as and .
In 2009, there were calls for gambling to be made illegal again, it was discussed in parliament, but no action was taken and licences are still being granted. The biggest company involved is Delta Corp and recent reports from stockbroker Alchemy suggest that by March 2013 Delta Corp will be making profits of 135 crore rupees from a total revenue of 575 crore rupees. Both the government and the tourist industry are set to benefit from the continuing rise of gambling in Goa. Meanwhile, onshore companies such as the Marriott and Majestic hotel groups are both investing in casino equipment for their hotels.
cricket betting in goaGoa 51／3 in 20.3 Overs #GOAvKAR #VijayMerchant Scorecard：…
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cricket betting in goaGoa Veterans T20 League 2022 starts November 18 – watch live
The Goa Veterans T20 League 2022 will get underway on November 18, with six teams competing for the title.
A total of seven matches will be played in the tournament, six in the group stages and one grand finale. These matches will be played across two venues – Panjim Gymkhana Grounds and Goa Cricket Association (GCA) Academy Ground.
Goa Veterans, Gujarat Veterans, Haryana Veterans, Hyderabad Veterans, President XI Veterans and Uttar Pradesh Veterans are the six teams featuring in the tournament.
These teams will be divided into two groups of three teams each. The veterans of Goa, Haryana and Hyderabad form one group while Gujarat, Presidents XI and Uttar Pradesh are in the other group.
Each team will play two matches in the league stage and the team that finishes on top of the table will qualify for the final.
The final of the Goa Veterans T20 League 2022 will be held on November 20 at the GCA Academy Ground, beginning at 7:00 PM. The final will be the only match that will be played under floodlights. The group stage fixtures will be played in the morning and afternoon.
The live streaming of Goa Veterans T20 League 2022 will be available on the Fancode mobile app.
The Goa Veterans T20 League 2022 will not be broadcasted on television in India.
All timings are in Indian Standard Time (IST).
Date
Match Details
Venues
Time (IST)
November 18
Goa-V vs Hyderabad-V
GCA Academy Ground
9:00 AM
November 18
Gujarat-V vs President XI-V
Panjim Gymkhana
2:00 PM
November 19
Haryana-V vs Hyderabad-V
GCA Academy Ground
9:00 AM
November 19
President XI-V vs Uttar Pradesh-V
Panjim Gymkhana
2:00 PM
November 20
Goa-V vs Haryana-V
GCA Academy Ground
9:00 AM
November 20
Gujarat-V vs Uttar Pradesh V
Panjim Gymkhana
2:00 PMcricket betting in goaGoa Veterans T20 League 2022 starts November 18 – watch live
November 20
Final
GCA Academy Ground
7:00 PM
Featured photo: GREG WOOD / AFP